Simply put, Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, is a marketing process undertaken to make a website both visible and relevant to search engines and users. This process has several components:

• Website Design & Architecture

• Content Considerations

• Well-written Meta Tags

• Well-chosen Keywords & Keyword Phrases

• Link Building Strategies

Website Design & Architecture
Make your website search-friendly. Some web design elements that impede indexing of websites include Javascript navigation, Flash, Frames, and Flash Navigation. Problems related to “server side site design elements” which include having re-directed additional domains to the primary domain, multi-parameter URL’s and duplicate content.

Content Considerations
Good content both defines your website and attracts users. Content drives search engine rankings and is the food of search engine spiders. High quality content is just as important and the quantity of your content. Good quality content usually equals more users.

Well-Written Meta Tags
A well written title tag can greatly improve search results. The description tag give “bots” an idea of what the page is about and is seen by users as they sift through search results. The description information should be well written and contain the important keywords that you want to highlight. Make sure that all the keywords used in the title and the description tags are included in this section.

Well-Chosen Keywords & Keyword Phrases
Keyword selection is the single most important stage in the entire search engine optimization process. Another consideration you will want to make when choosing your keyword phrases is whether or not they are words that prompt users to action - whether that action includes purchasing a product, signing up for a monthly newsletter or joining a group.

Linking Building Strategies
Good link building is critical to your overall marketing strategy. In evaluating the “value” of links to your site, Google uses two factors: the quality of the site on which the link to your site originates and how many outbound links a “hub” has. The more outbound links, the lower the value each link provides to the site.

Egg Digital Media LLC can assist your small business in developing a good search marketing strategy in conjunction with your website design. Call us at 832-549-8406 for a free consultation or request a quote.

The bartleboglehegarty.com website is a lesson in elegant simplicity.

Top 10 Things To Do When Designing Your Website

1. Keep your design focused, simple and clean.
2. Keep your site positionally centered on the screen.
3. Use no more than 3 columns.
4. Separate the top sections - keep branding & navigation distinct from the content.
5. Less is more. Be generous with the white space.
6. Important things belong “above the fold.”
7. Choose colors that make sense.
8. Don’t steal from your competitor - do it better.
9. Keep your navigation clear & simple.
10. Go BOLD with your logo.

Usability expert Jakob Nielsen has put together an exhaustive list of the Top 10 Mistakes in Web Design. This should be mandatory reading for anyone about to design their own site or hire a web designer.

Let Egg Digital Media design an elegantly simple - but effective - website for you: 832-549-8406.

Link Building is a critical step in becoming a high-ranking search engine website. Many factors contribute to the growth and spread of links to your site:

Blogging is a very powerful tool in your Search Engine Optimization strategy. Here are some reasons why:

Good web design is much more than glossy buttons or Flash elements. You need a website that will accomplish your website’s objectives. For most, that means driving people to your site and ensuring they stick around awhile. Your marketing should be a key consideration as to how your site is designed.

Here are a few basics of good visual web design:

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The way social marketing helps bring visibility to your website is similar to organic search optimization. The difference is it focuses on getting good online visibility, links, and targeted traffic using the social media sites as a conduit.

When you incorporate links (buttons) and other tools that facilitate book marking, cloud tagging, voting or rating of content, you help online visitors “talk” to one another and spread their content via the main social sites. According to Wikipedia:

Social Media Marketing, on the other hand, is an off-page characteristic of Social Media. This includes writing content that is remarkable, unique, and newsworthy. This content can then be marketed by popularizing it or even by creating a “viral” video on YouTube and other video sites.

Social Media is about being social, so this off-page work can include getting involved in other similar blogs, forums, and niche communities. Search Engine Marketing or SEM involves utilization of all available Social Networking platforms to brand a product using Search Engine Optimization or SEO techniques of communication, to the end consumer.

Various “forms” of social media are:

• Forums
• Blogs or Weblogs
• Wikis
• Podcasts
• YouTube
• Twitter
• Facebook
• LinkedIn
• Plaxo
• Jaiku
• Youmeo

Social Media Optimization is the process by which you create and utilize various strategies into your overall web design plan to get your content more widely distributed across multiple Social Media networks. This helps drive more traffic to your website.

The SMO part is the strategy you and your web designer develop (your “on page” efforts) to make your site social friendly. This type of optimization includes adding links to services such as Digg, Newsvine, Reddit or Del.icio.us so your pages can be submitted to these services.

The SMM part is what is known as an off-page attribute of Social Media and includes developing content that is unique and newsworthy. Once developed this content can be “marketed” and popularized through such sites as YouTube or other video sites. This type of strategy is most effective when your video goes viral.

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